Watching this part of "The Castle", I was reminded of my own foray into self-employment when I ran Canberra Computer Accounting Systems from what was at first one and then two spare bedrooms in my house.
Dennis Denuto might be Australia's most famous legal figure, but a certain Queensland solicitor argued that being compared to the famed suburban solicitor from the 1997 film implied he was unprofessional, foolish and incompetent, and launched a $250,000 defamation case, only for the courts to dismiss the vibe of his argument.
I would have been proud to be called the Dennis Denuto of the computing world, as I, too, was a one-man band who cleaned his own photocopier - with the language often being the same - and in every other aspect a jack-of-all-trades, as well as the master of a diverse range of computer accounting software (as well as writing my own) and computer hardware. Being a one-stop shop was my major selling point.
I even was a certified installer of NOVELL and LANTASTIC networking software. To this day I wonder why I didn't get myself certified full-stop, because, determined as I was to remain a one-man-band, I never achieved the economies of scale to fully utilise all that knowledge.
However, the constant challenge and variety of work kept me in one place for a record fifteen years. I don't think I would've lasted fifteen months in a 9-to-5 job. And the earnings, although unpredictable, always averaged out to a good salary, and without having to brown-nose an unappreciative boss.
When you're young, you have dreams; when you're old, you have memories. Although I never bought myself a new photocopier and was never seen on television, I can honestly say, "Thanks for the memories, Canberra Computer Accounting Systems !
